


Rebirth (First Draft)

by Cedar Lowell (moonflower_writing)



Series: Aincrad Infinity Alternate [1]
Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Back to Aincrad, Infinite Aincrad is basically Aincrad, Multi, OCs galore, but a little different at the same time, lotsa OCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 08:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20467949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonflower_writing/pseuds/Cedar%20Lowell
Summary: 20,000 people are sent to Aincrad, but, this time, with no escape and a never-ending number of floors. Yumi is one of those people, and she must fight to survive in that crazy, crazy world along with her party members, the siblings Rain and Glacier.Their lives may have ended in one world, but they are just beginning their lives in this new one.On an indefinite hiatus.





	1. Born Again

Her rebirth into a new, yet familiar world was unexpected to say the least. Mizuki had been asleep when it happened. An afternoon nap was all she wanted, but she awoke to something completely different than her small bedroom. Her bedroom was supposed to be cluttered with all her textbooks and novels and magazines. Her naginata should’ve been in the corner, but it was all gone. Everything was gone. Mizuki couldn’t even feel the blanket draped over her body. All she could see was an endless expanse of white stretching out in front of her.  
Ping. The high-pitched tone echoed around Mizuki and a menu appeared before her. It was a generic enough menu, but the very sight of it sent shivers down her spine and dredged up memories from Sword Art Online. She didn’t know what exactly about the menu set her off. It was just too similar to the menus of her memories. Every game that utilized the FullDive system had always avoided any similarities to what Sword Art Online had looked like to the point where they wouldn’t even utilize the same color scheme, but this menu was nearly exactly the same as the ones that had been in that death game.  
Mizuki pushed aside her thoughts - and the irrational fears that came with them. She wasn’t in Sword Art Online anymore. Aincrad was gone and it wasn’t coming back. Well, at least the one that was actually a death game was gone. There was still New Aincrad in ALfheim Online, but that was different. That one wouldn’t kill you.  
Mizuki turned her attention back to the menu. It was asking her to log in with her username and password. Mizuki was curious as to what it was for, so she typed in the same username and password she had created for ALO. It didn’t work.  
“Error: Incorrect Username and Password,” had appeared in red text at the bottom of the menu. Mizuki had a feeling deep down that she needed to log in with her old username and password - the one she had replaced after Sword Art Online was defeated. Mizuki’s fingers were shaking as she typed her old credentials into the menu and hit “Continue”.  
They were accepted, and Mizuki held her breath as she waited for something - anything - to happen. Another ping rang out just as Mizuki’s lungs started to feel like they were about to burst. Mizuki didn’t feel like she was in the clear yet, but she started to breathe again. Holding her breath was a stupid idea and she knew it.  
Mizuki was starting to feel even more on edge with every moment that passed after the sound, but nothing happened. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but, just as she opened her mouth, she felt a wave roll over her. It wasn’t a wave of water, but Mizuki didn’t know how to explain it other than as a wave.  
A window appeared in Mizuki’s vision.  
“Welcome, Yumi! You are being logged in to Infinite Aincrad! Please wait.” Mizuki’s - no, Yumi’s - eyes widened and she started to feel dizzy. Aincrad. She was going to Aincrad. She was logging back in to the death game she thought had been destroyed.


	2. Opening Ceremonies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The opening ceremonies of Infinite Aincrad commence.

Yumi felt sick and dizzy, and the blurry outlines that filled her vision every time she opened her eyes were not helping. After the fourth time she had to shut her eyes tight and choke back the bile that was rising in her throat, everything was suddenly in focus. Those blurry outlines had turned into the outlines of people and a large stone wall that she was facing.  
Being able to finally see had helped with both the nausea and the dizziness, and Yumi finally dared to turn her head and look around. There were maybe twelve people in between her and the stone wall, but that number was dwarfed in comparison to the crowd behind her. There was easily thousands of people all crammed into the plaza - which she recognized as the main plaza of the Town of Beginnings - and more kept appearing in flashes of blueish-white light every second.  
More and more and more people appeared until the plaza seemed to be full to bursting and some places were packed so tightly that people were forced to touch shoulders.  
“Welcome, Players! Welcome to Infinite Aincrad! Welcome to your new life!”  
A booming voice echoed around the plaza, but Yumi couldn’t determine the direction it was coming from. It seemed everywhere and nowhere at once.  
Everyone around Yumi was tense as the reverberating echoes died down, waiting for the voice to speak again.  
One second passed. Two seconds. Three. A minute, but the voice still didn’t come again.  
Chatter was starting back up among the people crammed into the large plaza when something brighter than bright appeared at the front of the crowd. The light faded bit by bit to reveal a shining outline of a person. It was practically the opposite of a shadow. Just light in the vague shape of a human being.  
The figure of light extended one arm to the side - as if it was showing off a creation it had made.  
“This-” the figure began in the same deep, echoing voice as before, “-is now your home. Your world. Your life.  
“It is Infinite Aincrad - a world like the original Aincrad of Sword Art Online, but with one major difference: Infinite Aincrad has an infinite number of randomly generated floors past Floor 100.”  
A long pause occurred as the echoes of the voice began to die down. Everyone in the plaza seemed to be in shock at the words. They didn’t speak during the pause.  
“In this world, you have one life - just like in the old one. Your life and physical condition is determined by the Health Bar in the upper left corner of your vision. Keep track of your Hit Points well, for, when they drop to zero, you die.  
“You don’t come back like in a game. When you die, you die for real. Your real bodies are in this world, so it is acceptable, no?” The voice was both cryptic and perfectly clear.  
Yumi could feel the blood draining from her face as she remembered the people she lost back in the death game that ended four years ago. She was going to lose people again. To a world that was nearly the same too.  
And, yet, Yumi was buzzing with more than fear. She was humming with excitement and a feeling of purpose and belonging. This was more than a game to her; this was her home, and she has finally returned.  
It was like the entire world was saying it.  
“Welcome home, Yumi.”


End file.
